Jay Meena battled typhoid, hip injury and self-doubt to win historic Asian Games medal

Indian athlete Jay Meena, bronze medalist in soft tennis at the 2026 Asian Games, arrives at the IGI Airport in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo/Neeraj) NEW DELHI: Weeks ahead of the 2026 Asian Games, Jay Meena was bedridden with typhoid and a severe infection, losing eight kilograms in the process. The 25-year-old, who was sent home to Dewas in Madhya Pradesh in August from the Asian Games training camp in Srinagar in August, needed to be hand-fed by his parents for almost a week.Recovery was also difficult. He was dizzy for a week when he walked just a few steps. An upset stomach made his attempts to regain strength and get back in shape more difficult.Cut to the present. The 25-year-old collapsed on the baseline with joy as his opponent’s last shot went wide and Meena won the first-ever Asian Games medal in Soft Tennis. A moment later he was back on his feet, arms outstretched, roaring toward the Indians bench. The celebration brought much more than just a bronze medal. It was a historic moment for Indian Soft Tennis as Meena secured the sport’s first ever Asian Games medal.Meena recounts that he was completely out of action for 15 days and the clock was ticking on the Asian Games. All his efforts over the past few months have just been undone by a viral infection. “I started light warm-ups, started training again. I couldn’t sit at home at a time like this,” he tells TimesofIndia.com, the urgency of the situation still evident in his voice.He recovered just in time to catch a flight to Tokyo and a Shinkansen (train) to Nagoya. However, the ordeal was far from over.

New Delhi, Sep 24 (ANI): Indian athlete Jay Meena, bronze medalist in soft tennis at the 2026 Asian Games, received a warm welcome from his family members and supporters on his arrival at the IGI Airport in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo/Neeraj)

Recovery from typhoid meant that nutrition became almost as important as training. But in Nagoya, the mostly seafood menu offered few vegetarian options. In the absence of a traditional game village, he made do with corn, bread, butter, milk and cereal. While urging the authorities to send cooks to future contingents, Meena stressed that packaged food cannot replace fresh preparations.The lingering effects of the illness appeared during his semi-final loss to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka (2-4) as Meena required a medical time-out to continue in a closely fought match at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.He later revealed that his iliac nipple was hindering his backhand game and he had a “stabbing” pain every time he went for a shot.Then there is the obvious psychological challenge of representing the country at such a competition. Gradually, the chances of a medal decreased and the internal battles increased. First, the men’s team, also with Meena, lost 0-2 to Indonesia in the quarter-finals. Then Meena and Aadhya Tiwari lost in the first round of mixed doubles.“We had a lot of disappointment throughout the night, a lot of self-doubt. When we lost the quarter-final against Indonesia, it was the 18th big opportunity. If we had won that day, then Soft Tennis would have opened the (medal) account for India. Then came the (mixed) doubles where Aadhya and I achieved a big disappointment day and night, but we lost through the quarter-finals,” Meena said in a reflection of the start of the competition.“After all these things, it was very difficult to come back and gain confidence after self-doubt. It was very difficult to wake up every morning with new hope and get on the court with new energy,” he continued.

Nagoya: India’s Aadhya Tiwari and Jay Meena compete in the soft tennis Group B mixed doubles at the ongoing 20th Asian Games at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya, Japan. (PTI Photo/Arun Sharma) (PTI09_21_2026_000029B)

A career that almost wasn’t, and a brother’s sacrificeThe desperate need for faith and confidence is not new in Meena’s career. When he was in 10th grade and his foray into Soft Tennis was going nowhere, Rameshwar, his lawyer father, suggested he quit and focus elsewhere. That’s when his mother stepped in, pushing for reconsideration and patience. That point paid off.A few years later, Meena went on to rewrite the history of Indian soft tennis, winning gold at the National Games, India’s first World Championship medal in mixed doubles and a breakthrough bronze at the Asian Championships.Still one of his biggest supporters, Meena’s father traveled with his son to national tournaments and even accompanied him to Japan for the Asian Games.

The financial situation was not so good. We had to make him stay back because my father couldn’t afford more than what it cost me to play. That’s why my brother went into engineering.

Jay Meena

Perhaps the toughest victim belongs to someone else: his younger brother Yash.Two years younger than Jay, Yash was a soft-spoken tennis player and national medalist. But with their financial situation less than ideal, a tough decision was needed and Jay’s career continued.“The financial situation wasn’t that good. We had to force him to stay back because my father couldn’t afford more than what it cost me to play. That’s why he went into engineering,” says the MP native.“Somewhere or other, my younger brother’s life was sacrificed for me. Because my parents gave me about 10 years more. If we had continued, he might have been with me at the Asian Games,” he continued.

From gully cricket to soft tennis courts

Jay Meena was like many other youngsters in the country who had cricketing ambitions. He played cricket in the gully with the other kids in his street. However, the notorious boy in him had a tendency to fight and get into fights. He would also harass teachers at school, including once setting off fireworks under the principal’s desk.The situation came to a head when he was expelled from Ebenazer High School in the fourth grade. Since no school wanted to accept him, Pioneer Public School agreed, but on one condition: that he join the sports academy. With his parents wanting to keep Jay’s antics in check, they agreed with sports coach Sudesh Sangte’s health.

** TO GO THE STORY** Nagoya: India’s bronze medalist Jay Meena, front right, poses on the podium with gold medalist Toshiki Uematsu, top left, of Japan, silver medalist Takuya Kurosaka, front left, of Japan, and bronze medalist Chen Po-yi, top right, of China’s bronze medal ceremony for the 20th Asian Men’s Tennis at the Asian individual bronze medal ceremony of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Games in Nagoya, Japan. (PTI Photo) (PTI09_25_2026_000201B)

Sangte, a former national-level Kho Kho player and now a national soft tennis coach, has set up a two-court facility.“My family was very angry with me. I didn’t stay at home, I didn’t let anyone rest. I used to fight. Their parents complained a lot and my family kicked me out. They said you’re out now. You’re going to stay on the ground (academy). Don’t come home in the morning and in the evening. Come home at night,” Jay says with a laugh.“The school teachers and my classmates were (also) upset. I was rusticated in the fourth grade. And no other school accepted me. At that time Mr. Sudesh Sangte, who is now my head coach, accepted me. I used to take admissions during the summer holidays.”“They made two courts in their school. So I played in their academy during the summer vacation. Little did I know when I started playing for India and now I have won a medal in the Asian Games,” he explained.

For me, it’s an Olympic medal. It is nothing short of an Olympic medal. All the strongest teams come in the Asian contingent. So it feels like an Olympic medal to me because soft tennis is not part of the Olympics

Jay Meena

Bigger than Asian Games medals

Although the International Soft Tennis Federation (ISTF) has 65 members, including Eritrea, the Basque Country, Curacao, Malta, North Korea and Uganda, the sport is dominated by Asian countries. At the last World Soft Tennis Championships held in Anseong, South Korea in 2024, six countries won medals: Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, China, India and the Philippines.Thirteen National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have applied for the 2026 Asian Games, with Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, the Philippines and North Korea sending a maximum of 10 players. In the end, athletes from Japan, Chinese Taipei, North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia, India and the Philippines left with medals.Given the dominance of Asian countries in soft tennis, Jay weighs this new medal on the Olympic scale.“For me it’s an Olympic medal. It’s nothing less than an Olympic medal. All the strongest teams are in the Asian contingent. So it feels like an Olympic medal because soft tennis is not part of the Olympics,” the youngster explained.Sixteen years ago, Soft Tennis was simply a way to keep an unruly fourth grader out of trouble. He awarded India a historic Asian Games medal today.